West of the wall, settlement building continues
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 23, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinians in the Qalqiliya district, where Israel's separation wall extends 22 kilometers into the West Bank, have watched rapid construction in the settlement of Oranit continue despite the call for a partial freeze on building. A spokesman from Israel's Civil Administration confirms officials are "familiar with the issue and are working to resolve it."

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Abbas Says Palestinians Won't Rise Up, for Now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Wall Street Journal
by Charles Levinson - December 22, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said there won't be a new Palestinian uprising as long as he's in office, but warned the current calm might end once he steps down, as early as June. In a 60-minute interview, Mr. Abbas rebutted charges by Israel that he was responsible for holding up peace talks, saying he twice presented privately a compromise on settlements to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak. Mr. Abbas said Mr. Barak ignored the offer. Mr. Barak's office didn't respond to requests for comment.

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Talks in current climate a 'waste of time'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - December 22, 2009 - 1:00am

Former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei (Abu Ala) dismissed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's declaration of a 10-month moratorium in the settlements as a "brazen ploy to buy time," rejecting a return to talks as a "waste of time" during a speech to a conference here on Monday.

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Israeli forces report coming under fire in Hebron
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 18, 2009 - 1:00am

Palestinians opened fire at Israeli forces at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron early Friday morning, an Israeli military spokesperson said. the troops were performing what was described as "a routine deployment" near the holy site when Palestinians opened fire, the spokesperson added. Other sources said a Palestinian car approached the group and fired three bullets, adding that the troops exchanged fire. The spokesperson did not comment on the exchange of fire. No one was injured in the incident, according to sources, and the car fled the scene.


Lieberman: We will be building again in 10 months
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 18, 2009 - 1:00am

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Thursday that the 10-month settlement freeze was simply a tactical move and not a real effort to stop settlement growth, Israeli media sources reported Friday. "It is clear to everyone that in 10 months, we will be building again [in] full force; anyone who understands anything knows this," he told gathered settlers at a meeting in the West Bank settlement town of Ariel as quoted in the Israeli daily Haaretz.

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Israel settlements: rabbis say soldiers' loyalty to God trumps army orders
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Christian Science Monitor
by Joshua Mitnick - December 18, 2009 - 1:00am

In Israel, a standoff is escalating between the Israeli defense establishment and religious nationalists over the possible evacuation of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. On Thursday, a group of rabbis published a letter saying a soldiers' loyalty to the divine takes precedence over their commanders.

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International law is clear: Israeli settlements are illegal
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Iain Scobbie - (Opinion) December 17, 2009 - 1:00am

Eric Rozenman's Dec. 11 Op-Ed article, "Israeli settlements are more than legitimate," is legal nonsense that disregards history. He is correct in his observation that Article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine permitted "close settlement by Jews on the land, including state lands and waste lands not required for public purposes," but the conclusions he then draws are flatly wrong.

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Babylon & Beyond
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
December 17, 2009 - 1:00am

Religion is the opiate of the masses, Karl Marx said. That might be true in some places, but in Israel, this drug induces dangerous hyperactivity. Always a scratch-of-the-surface away, religion is an emotional factor in conflict -- between Israel and the Palestinians, between Israelis and themselves. Recent days have provided one reminder after another.

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Palestinian village caught amid Israel settlements
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Associated Press
by Ben Hubbard - December 17, 2009 - 1:00am

The head of this Palestinian village can't scan the horizon without being reminded of everything his people have lost. From the roof of the village council building, Abdelnasser Bedawi can see six of the nine Israeli settlements and outposts that have sprung up on the surrounding hills in the last three decades, fencing in the village and keeping it from two-thirds of its land.

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Abbas now
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz
(Editorial) December 17, 2009 - 1:00am

As could have been expected, the limited construction freeze in the settlements has not brought the Palestinian leaders back to the negotiating table. It is obvious that the decision to give incentives to residents of isolated settlements will not contribute to building trust between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Netanyahu is continuing to walk a tightrope between his commitment to a two-state solution and his desire to placate the settlers and their representatives in Likud and the governing coalition.

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